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California Races Ahead in Electric Car Adoption

Sales of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in California exceeded 100,000 cars at the end of August, making it the nation’s EV leader and driving the state closer toward Governor Jerry Brown’s goal of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roadways by 2025.

Data collected by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) show state residents bought 102,440 PEVs from December 2010 through August 2014, approximately 40 percent of all the PEVs sold in the U.S.

“This is a significant milestone in California’s efforts to make the transition to greener, advanced vehicle technologies that reduce air emissions and dependence on petroleum,” said Colin Santulli, CSE’s senior transportation programs manager. “CSE is proud to be a part of this ramping up of EVs in California and is looking for ways to further prime the U.S. market for larger numbers of these vehicles over the next few years.”

CSE is the statewide program administrator for the ARB’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). Nearly 75% of California PEV buyers received rebates totaling more than $150 million since 2010.

CVRP offers rebates for the purchase or lease of new eligible zero-emission and plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles with many models qualifying for $2,500 rebates.